Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Annabelle's POV

I had last seen Tristan 3 years back, when he was a tall, lanky 21-year-old, freshly graduated from college, absolutely gorgeous with his forever tousled chocolate brown hair, and jade green eyes which he inherited from Audrey. His features resembled Stefan's so much that the two looked like twins, although Stefan looked better.

Now, Tristan looked mature, confident and his lanky body had nicely filled up, with muscles in the right places. Although he teased me incessantly, he treated me like a sister.

"Belladonna", he squealed in a high-pitched voice to imitate me, grinning from ear to ear, to piss me off. He knew how much I hated that nickname. Okay, I could also piss him off.

"Trissy, where have you been for so long?" I squealed, grinning in a similar manner.

"Gawd," he groaned melodramatically, "Trissy doesn't suit me, honey," he said as he swept his hand over his body to indicate all of himself. "It's a name for some prissy missy. Why don't you call me 'handsome', 'love', 'Caro', 'heartbeat'? See, so many options." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes hearing his name suggestions. What an impossible flirt!

Martha, giggling, offered them coffee. Stefan's jaw was clenched, hands formed into fists, knuckles white with suppressed anger, as he glared at Tristan, while he flirted with me. I knew Tristan wasn't interested in me romantically. He has always loved a girl named Amelia since high school. He had confessed his feelings to her, but she left school forever. Tristan sat beside me purposely trying to get Stefan jealous.

"Seriously? Caro?" I said with disgust.

"See, you called me Caro, it sounded so melodious coming from you, music for my tired ears." He said winking. "So where's my kiss? I'm meeting you after 3 years and this is how you greet me?" He said coming closer.

Stefan banged the table with his fists and got up, growling, "Tristan Henderson, that's enough. Don't you have any work to do? Go freshen up and meet me at my study in 30 minutes along with the Clark project reports," he barked his orders, placing down his coffee mug with a clang and stomped off for the stairs angrily.

"I emailed them to you bro. See, you're really getting old," said Tristan, grinning as he tried to hide behind me, making Stefan angrier.

At the foot of the stairs, Stefan turned and glared directly into my eyes, "In my office, now?" He gritted out.

Uh oh, I'm a dead case now. God knows what he would say to me now!

Martha escaped to the kitchen to make dinner. Tristan winked and whispered into my ear, "You're a gone case now, sweetheart."

I groaned and went upstairs to my room to freshen up. After the cleaning and vacuuming, I felt dirty, and sticky, and needed a quick shower. In 10 minutes, I felt fresh in a white and pink floral fitted sundress, and fixing my partly dried hair into a messy bun, I went to see Stefan in his study.

I knocked and opened the door, peeping inside cautiously. He sat at his desk, focused on his laptop. He looked up at me with a pissed-off, scowling face. He gestured for me to sit on a chair in front of him. I felt like a naughty schoolgirl caught red-handed by the school principal.

"What took you so long?" He growled, "What exactly was that Rosy? Do you behave shamelessly that way with all the men around you? " he barked.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" I glared at him. It was a very casual flirting that Tristan always did around me and I always treated him as a brother. Tristan knew I loved Stefan. I have always only loved Stefan. He was my first and my only love. He might be too blind not to realize it.

Stefan got up from his seat and angrily came around to where I sat. He gripped my chair and leaned towards me. I backed away nervously. What was he trying to do?

"My one question pisses you off, but you can throw yourself at him, laugh, and be happy with him?" He gritted out. His eyes shamelessly roamed all over my face checking out my reaction to his nearness.

I was very angry with him. It was none of his business what I did. He didn't own me. Suddenly realization struck. Wait a minute, was he jealous?

"It's none of your business what I do or don't," I said, trying to get up. He did not move, trapping me between him and the chair. "Why? Are you jealous Stefan?" I asked mockingly looking directly into his eyes.

"Yes, I am. Don't you think I should be?" He said as he came closer to me. His face was inches from mine. His eyes bored a hole into my face. I was spellbound by his electric blue eyes. They were like a magnet drawing me in.

"Did he kiss you Rosy? Was it better than this?" His hot minty breath played with my nerves. He closed the distance, picked me up, deposited me on his desk, and crashed his lips to mine in a possessive, hungry, and punishing kiss. My hands went around his neck and caressed his soft hair. He groaned with need, his arm crushing me to his body. It was supposed to be a punishing kiss yet I enjoyed it more than anything else. His hand grasped my bu*t and I gasped in shock. His tongue entered my mouth and he deepened the kiss, his other hand holding my head in place. It was another wild and passionate kiss that had a fire blazing in the pit of my stomach. I was stunned by my body's reaction to his kisses. It seemed as if it had a will of its own where Stefan was concerned.

Yes, I was a 21-year-old virgin who never had a boyfriend as I could not get over Stefan and move on. I avoided all guys who approached me. I was scared of rejection as I had experienced it all, first by my dad, then by Stefan himself. I had only loved Pops and now gran and Stefan too.

He released me to catch his breath. His eyes softened. I caressed his cheek and said, "There's nothing between me and Tristan, believe me. He is like a brother to me. He loves someone else. He just flirts to piss you off." He stared deep into my eyes, trying to grasp what I had just told him.

Finally, his eyes softened to a tender look and I released the breath that I had been holding unconsciously. He released me abruptly and went to sit on his chair, making me miss his warmth immediately. I got down from the desk and was about to leave when he said, "Sit Rosy". I sat down curiously, not knowing what he wanted to talk to me about. There was something electrifying in the air and it made my heart beat like thunder. I sat gazing at his handsome face, with apprehension while he stared at his laptop instead.